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Still learning his new home, Australian freshman Jeromie Hill has no idea where the site of UTSA's next game — Dayton, Ohio — is located. He is only slightly more familiar with the Roadrunners' opponent, Alabama State.

“I know it's a Southern state,” he said. “I'm going to say it's east of us.”

As long as Hill keeps knocking down 3-pointers, head coach Brooks Thompson said he can live with his power forward's lack of geographic knowledge.

That was where the Roadrunners (19-13), seeded seventh after squeezing in, upset three straight opponents in the Southland Conference tournament.

Their unlikely run propelled them to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004, where they'll meet the Hornets (17-17) on Wednesday at 5:40 p.m. at the University of Dayton Arena in the so-called First Four.

Known more commonly as “play-in” games, the four contests are relegated to something called truTV.

But with a chance to burnish his résumé with UTSA's first victory in the NCAA tournament, Thompson said he doesn't care about perception.

“People can look at play-in games however they want, but I can tell you this: UTSA is one of the 68 teams that made this field, and that's what matters,” Thompson said. “It's exciting to have an opportunity to win a game in the NCAA tournament, and I'm sure Alabama State feels the same way.”

Like the Roadrunners, the Hornets are 0-3 in the NCAA tournament. The winner will face top overall seed Ohio State in the second round Friday in Cleveland.

UTSA is 194th in the latest RPI rankings, while the Hornets are 254th. Alabama State has won 11 of its last 12 games, including Saturday's SWAC final against Grambling State.

Even though the thrill of Saturday's 75-72 victory over McNeese State has worn off, senior point guard Devin Gibson said he still hasn't digested what UTSA accomplished by surviving five must-win games in 11 days.

“It's pretty amazing,” he said.

UTSA only made the Southland tournament after rallying from 10 down at halftime at UT-Arlington in the regular-season finale. That was followed by an even bigger comeback, from 14 points with less than eight minutes remaining, to stun Northwestern State in the Southland quarterfinals.

“These guys had the character to overstep some obstacles where another team might have quit,” Thompson said.

Now, Gibson said, it's time to chase new objectives.

“I want to go ahead and accomplish another goal I haven't accomplished and win an NCAA tournament game,” he said. “We can also win 20 games, which we haven't done (since 1991-92). So we can kill two birds with one stone.”